Even as the rituals for the January 22 Pran Pratistha ceremony are in progress at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the main ‘yajmaan’ of the event is presently touring the temples of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala offering prayers. He visited the famous Guruvayur temple in Kerala on Wednesday morning and also offered prayers at Thriprayar Sree Ramaswami temple in Trichur district. He also launched three infrastructure projects worth Rs 4000 crore in Kochi. On Tuesday, Modi offered prayers at Veerabhdra temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh. This is a famous Ramayana site where Jatayu fell injured while battling the demon king Ravana, who had abducted Sita. Modi said at a function that the entire nation is presently deep in devotion of Lord Ram, waiting for the consecration event on Monday in Ayodhya. The holy town of Ayodhya has been decorated with fabulous lighting, wall paintings, rangolis and other artwork. Donations in the form of 108-feet high agarbatti stand from Gujarat, new handwoven heritage clothes from Lucknow and Chhappan Bhog from Agra meant for Lord Ram idol have arrived.
Top astrologer from Varanasi, Ganeshwar Shastry will oversee the rituals leading to the main event, while Pandit Laxmikant Dixit from Kashi will be the Mukhya Acharya (main priest). UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath extolled the ideals of Lord Ram and said, those who follow the path of Ram and become his devotee attain divine powers like Hanuman, while those distance themselves from Ram die like Maarich. Ayodhya, Yogi said, is no more a town where curfew is clamped, nor bullets are fired. In Kohima, Nagaland, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, while addressing media, said his party has decided not to attend the consecration event in Ayodhya, because it is being organized by BJP-RSS and Modi will be performing the main ritual. Modi, he said, is our ṃain political rival. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the consecration event was not a religious one, but a political program. Meanwhile, new herrings are being introduced, with Congress leader Digvijaya Singh and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claiming that the new temple is being constructed three km away from the actual birthplace.
Their lie was nailed by Alt News fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, who tweeted that the temple has been built at the actual spot. He said the 2023 Google image of the spot has been compared with the 2011 Google image, and there has been no change in location. On Tuesday, Sadhvi Ritambhara was the guest in my show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, to be telecast on India TV on Saturday, January 20, where I asked her whether the temple is being built on a different location. Sadhvi Ritambhara laughed and said, the Ram Mandir is being built at the exact spot, where kar seva took place. Sadhvi Ritambhara has been part of Ram Janmabhoomi movement since the beginning. She does not belong to any political party and has devoted her life to social work. India TV reporter in Ayodhya asked Govind Giri Maharaj, the treasurer of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Govind Giri said that the day the Babri structure was demolished, the main ‘garbhagriha’ was marked, and it was at this spot that the sanctum sanctorum of the new temple has been built. I feel that it is not an issue of the opposition levelling baseless charges in order to create confusion about the consecration event. The issue relates to the thinking of opposition leaders, whether it is Rahul Gandhi, or Digvijaya Singh, or Uddhav Thackeray, or Sanjay Raut, or any RJD or Samajwadi Party leader. These leaders are making baseless charges. Are these leaders not witnessing the mood of the nation? Are these leaders not watching a wave of devotion for Ram sweeping the country? Hindus living across the world are trying all means to reach Ayodhya, but Rahul Gandhi is saying the consecration event is a political program and BJP wants to take political advantage. But the question is: if BJP will gain advantage from this event, will the opposition parties gain advantage by boycotting the event? I think, Iqbal Ansari, the main litigant from Muslim side in the Ayodhya case, is wiser than these leaders. His father fought the case for several decades, but the apex court verdict went in favour of building the Ram temple. Iqbal Ansari has been invited to the January 22 event, and he has happily accepted it. He will attend the Pran Pratistha event. Even Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal seems to be wiser. He has become a follower of Lord Ram’s main devotee Bajrangbali Hanuman. On Tuesday, he attended a Hanuman Chalisa Sundar Kand Path in Rohini, Delhi. His party has already started recital of Hanuman Chalisa in all assembly constituencies of Delhi.
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